Combined water heater and incinerator



vMay 13, 1930.` w. c wEPsTl-:IN

COMBINED WATER HEATER AND INCINERATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 15,1927 N. x. s 00,.4 i a A W4 May 13,A 1930. w. c. EPsTElN COMBINED WATERHEATER AND INCINERATOR Filed June 15, 1927 4 sheets-sheet Y- /NvfA/TamWC. ERSTE/N.

xoz( ATTORNEY .May 1,3, 1930. w. c. EPsjrEl'N v I 1,758,505

COMBINED WATER' HEATERAND INCINERATQR Filed June l5, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet3 JMM ,47m/min May 13, 1930. W. c. EPSTEIN CCMBINED WATER HEATER ANDINCINERATOR Filed June 15, 1927 4 sheets-sheet RM Yma y V L Itllllllflillllll Patented May 13, 1930 WILLIAM-c; EISS'TEINg-or-nYTOM-forare, assicuro-ni' To THE' Duo-TOR MANUFACTUR- ING coivrrmw,v FDAYfrolv, omo, A o'onronzur10Ny oF'oHIo COMBINED L 'WATER rrnnrnnimvnfINCINERATR Application 1 filed June `15',

v vide such a combined heater and incinerator havinga Water heatingcoil-,and means `Where.-

by said coil may be cleaned or .delimed ,'With'- out removing it fromthe structure; and" from which the coilk may be', easily .removed forfrepair or replacement..

A further object oftheinvention is to prol vide such an apparatuswithmeans for reguh lating the draft therethrough. 1, Other vobject-s of theinvention will appear.

as the device is-describedin detail..V l

In the accompanying'dra'vvings Fig. lis a vertical through an apparatusembodyingmy invention; Fig. 2is a transverse sectional'view talrenV onthe line 2-2 of F ig;` l; Fig.v 3 isa. sectional detail view-showingthemeans .for mounting the coil and for cleaningthe saine g'. Fig. 4 isa"transverse-sectiontaken ontho line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 isatransverse Sec?, tion taken on the line 5- -5.of Fig. l; Fig.' Gis akvertical f sectional view, taken centrallyl through a slightly modifiedform-of the-ap a ratus; Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional View ta en'centrallyy through another form ofthe appa. ratus andk partly brokenaway; and 8 is a transversesection taken onfthe lineS-S of Fig..7. Y

In these drawings I have illustrated'cerkiainembodiments of my inventionbut it. Willybe. understoodthat these embodiments liave'been chosen forthe purposes of illustrationonly` andthat'the several partsr may. take'various forms and arrangements Without departing Jfrom the-spirit of theinvention.

In that particular embodimentjshovvn inl Figs. l to 5,.theapparatuscomprisesavvater heatingv tankA l having an. opening there:

sectional view taken centrally 19er;v seri'ai'N. 198,892.

throughzforming. a combustion with@ in Whichthe garbage, or othermaterialtobe incinerated, may be supported in such aman-4 ner that thesame flame Wl'iichhfeats the vvatel'r will consume the garbage. As hereshown, tl'ieltankfis annular in cross section'andthe inner' vvall' 2thereof constitutesthe Wall of a centraliopening ivithin lvfhi'ch' thematerial to be incineratedgmayl be supported.v v The tank maybe mountedVany' suitable Y manner.A Y as" uponiegs' or jstandardsgiaGamm;Iii-eating with', thertank is 'acold Water supplypipe' andalight-Water outlet pipe 5L l. In'the'pres'ent construction bdtl pipesare conneetejwiythl the tankftlroughthetopvvall'tlierf and the' supplypipe 4 extendstoapont near the bot-V tomfotthe stank.. p r Y Y 4 `Themeans for supporting. the' Within thef tank may talte various forifns.and in. that'. fiorni ofthe .device shown l' and T have, provided a"separate hopper or receptacle', 6` yvvhi'ch arranged'f vvithin' the'opening in the tank and supports the" gar' bage therein. .This hopperashore shvvnis' substantially cylindrical 'for tl'ie'great'er part ofits length buthasjits upperfend' flared or enlarged,l as shovvnfat 751thfacilitatefthe iritroduction of.. the garbageinto; .the saline.r

Preferably .it vis readily remfiwable froiri ,the

tanky anelito-this en ditis supportedjvholly at its'upper..endl.V Ashere shown',`theltan r is providedk with 'aftopcastingwhich'exn tendsabout the upperV endl golf. the opening therethrough. and .has a'central opening ,in line Withthe openingthro'ugh the tank.' This topCasting.` also `hasf any inwardly extending annular ii'anfgel).Removably supported.- on

tliefiiange Q '.ofthe topcasting'lisflan annular v supportingimember orringiflOQth'e circumferential1`portion of which rests 'upnmthe {iaiifeQ'I and whichha's' Aaolo'ivnwar'dly' eX- tending'-y i'z'nge l1, towhich the u'pl'uei1 endof the hopper" is' se"cured'. yThelarrange'i'nent lis suchv as to provide ati'ght-joint betA en, thesupporting T member 10" and top casting7 and a removable closure 12rests upon the supe" porting structure and embraces an annular rib orupwardly extending flange 13, so as to tightly close the top of thehopper. The

lower end of the hopper is provided with a 18, which is here shownasannular in form, having an imperforate top wall and having inner andouter circumferential slots 19 and 2O through whiehpthe gasl may escapeand froml which the flame will rise. vTheftop wall has at itsouterfedgesdepending flanges 1,8a which overlap bu'tare spaced from the retpectiveslots and: 20,'so as to permit the escape of but to prevent foreignmaterialV v from entering the slots and clogging the same.

It" will be noted that the. arrangement of the burner is suchthat the"jetfof'flame from the inner slot 1 9 willrise against the bottomof thelhopper` while the jet of' flame `from the outer "slot 2O will'rise intothepassageway between 4the hopper and the tank. The burner is ,connectedwithja fuel supply pipeV 21 Vin which is insertedl an automatic valve22, a

pilot yburner 234 being providedand connected with thesupply pipe on theouter side ofthe valve 22.` A thermostat 24 extends .into the` tank andis operatively connected with the` automatic valve.. The automatic valveand its controlling thermostat may be of the'usual.

or any suitable construction and inasmuch as these devices form no partof the invention,

y aside from their combination with the other parts thereof, itis notnecessary to illustrate or' describe the same in detail.

It will beapparent that in the operation of the device the valve 22 willbe opened when the temperature ofthe water within the tank falls to apredetermined degree and that the ,burner will continue to operate untilthe temperature of the water has risen to a higher predetermined degree,at which time the thermostat l will operate Vvto close the 1; valve,`Thus "the temperature of theV water will be automatically maintainedbetween such minimum and maximum degrees.

v When the burner isv in operation any garbage within the hopper will`be subjected 'to the Vaction of the flame and will be consumed. It isnot essential that all the garbage which is in thehopper should beconsumed at one operation-,of thefburner but the quantity may besuchthatit will require several operations of the burner to entirelyconsume the same.

Theftop casting 8 has an outlet `Arranged beneath ythehopper is aburner` There is usually a definite relation between the amount ofgarbage accumulated in the kitchen and the amount of hot water used andconsequently the burner will usually operate for a sufficient length oftime to consume the garbage which has accumulated. As has been stated,however, this is not essential and even should no hot water be used theburner will come on periodically, because of the lowering of thetemperature of the water in the tankdue to radiation, and the successiveoperations Vof the burner will cause the incinerationof the garbage inthe hopper.

In some installations, ,and more particularly in the larger units, itmay be desirable to provide a water heating coil through which the waterin the tank may circulate and which will facilitate the heating of thewater. In Figs. land 2 Ihave shown such a coil, at 25,

yas arranged in the passageway between the hopper and the inner y wallof thejt'ank, the coil; having open communication at its upper and lowerends with the interior of the tank andwbeing arranged directly in thepath of the products of'combustion in the passageway. Inthe presentinstance, I have shown l thisheatingcoil as a duplexcoil, that is, itcomprises two parallel pipes connected one to the other at their endsonly. Such a coil resultsv in a more uniform heating of the water in thetank and prevents the creation of an excessive temperature at the top ofthe tank before the temperature in the lower portion'of' the tank risessufficiently to cause the thermostat to close the valves. Heating coilsYwill sometimes become clogged up Ywith foreign matter or lime, thisbeing particularly `true when hard water is being heated, and it isnecessary to clean or delime the coil. In the present construction, Ihave provided ineanswhereby acleaning fluid, or acid, may be passedthrough the coil to delime the saine without removing the coil ordismantling the apparatus. To accomplish this I have connected with theupper and lower ends of the coil, respectively, fittings 26 and 27,which are arranged within the tank in line with openings in the outerwall thereof, said openings beingnormally closed by plugs or caps 28which, when removed, permit access'to be 1.x

had to the fittings.

`One form of the fitting and one manner of securing theA same to thecoil is shown in Fig. 3, and inasmuch as" the construction is the sameat both ends of the coil it will be necessary4 to describe but onefitting and its connection with the coil. ing the end of the coil isconnected with a coupling member 29 which, in the presentinstanCe, is ofsuch a size as to receive the ends of the two membersof the duplex coil.rl`his coupling memberhas a'screwthreaded opening r30V and isprovidedaboutthat opening with a flange lhaving a `concave contactsurface orseat 32. Rigidly secured to the As shown in the draw-v innery wall 2 ofthe tank, as byl welding, in line with anuopeningtherein, is a collar33y having an interna-1 screw thread-34. Screw4 threaded into thiscollar is a second coupling membery 35 havingon its. inner end a head 36which is provided with a convex contact sur-Y member 35 to adjust it inthe collar and,

here shown', this coupling member is provide` withat-woinwardlyextendinglugs 37 adapted tofbe engaged by the edges of the barinsertedtherein through the openingy in the outer wall of the tank. The`fitting 26 is in the form of anvelongated tube or conduitgof such anenternal rdiameter that it will extend through the -coupling member 35and this' tube has its inner end screw threaded to enter kthe threadedopening in the coupling member -29-.5 At a point spaced'from the-.screwthreaded end thereof the fittinghas a circumferential flangel 38 to bearagainst the adjacent edge of thel col-lar 33. Preferably this flange hasan annular recess to receive a packing lring 39 which engages the edgeof the collar. By serting the fittingthrough the coupling member 35 andscrewing. it .into the coupling meinber 29, the Contact surfaces of thetwo cou* pling members maybe brought into sealing contact and thesealing ring 39 of the fitting maybe pressedv tightly against the collar33, thus providing a rigid support ior the end of the coilandVestablishing a tight joint between the same and the fitting. Anysuitablemeans may `be` provided for rotating the litting, such as inw-ardlyextending lugs 40 adapted tobe engaged by the edges of a bar insertedthrough the outer wall of the tank. The end of the tting is hereA shownas. arranged close to the cap 28 in the wall of the tank and to permitof the free circulation of water through the fitting l have provided thesame with slotsl 4l. Theouterslotted f; portion of the fitting is of-adiameter slightly greater than the inner portion thereof and this innerportion, adjacent to the slotted portion, is screw threadedfas shown at'42, to adapt it to receive the end of a conduit or pipe which maybeinserted throughthe-opening in the outer wall of the tank and whichprovides the means for introducing cleaning iiuid through the fittinginto the coil, or with drawing the same therefrom. The conduits or pipesused for this purpose may be of any suitable character, as shown at 43and 43a, respectively, in Fig. l. Preferably the conduit atv theupperend ofthe coil is provided with a funnel-shaped portion or isadapted to re-Y ceive a funnel yto facilitate the introduction of thecleansingiiuid int-o the Vfitting. conduit or pipe at the lower endvofthe coil may be'. provided with a valve 44 to enable the liquid to beretained in'thexcoil for the desired length. of. time.

The

This mannerof mounting the coil not onlyy permits of thep'assing of thecleansing fluid through the same while it is in position but alsoenables it to be quickly and easily removed from the tank for thepurpose ofrre pairing or replacing `the same. To remove the coil it. isonlyne'cessary to removeA the hopper and tov then remove the caps 28 andunscrew the fittings 26 and 27, thereby releasing both ends of the coiland permitting the same to be lifted out of the tank. Y Y In orderl thatthe draft through the apparat-us maybe-regulated I have interposed inthepipe 17 a device which is here shown in; the form ofa frusto-conicalhousing`45, the smaller upper end of which merges into the pipe and thelarger lower end of which has a bottom wall 46 provided with a cen--tral opening with which the upper end of the lower sectiony of pipe isconnected. This bottoni wall, between the pipe 17 and the outer wall ofthe housing, has a circumferential series'of openings 47 which arecontrolled by a rotary damper 48. As here shown, this damper is intheform of a" plate arranged beneath the bottom wall 46' and having aseries of openings 49 which may be moved into andout of registrationVwith theY openings 47 in the bottom plate, thus permitting more or lessair to enter the pipe and thereby regulating the draft through theapparatus. T he damper may bemounted onthe housing in any suitablemanner but, 'as

here shown` the bottom Awall 47 extends slightly beyond the outer wallof the housing and formsa fiange() and the outerpor tion of the'annularplate or damper 48 is bent upwardly and inwardly to form a guideway 5lwhich embraces this flange and rotatably supports the damper in closecontactwith the bottom of the housing. A han'- dle, as shown at 52,maybe attached to the damper for the purpose of adjusting the same.Mounted within the housing 45, between the upper and lower ends thereof,is an inverted cone 53 which is supportedby `arms 54 attached to thewall of the housing.

This cone is of a diameter slightly greater than thediameter of theopening in the bottom wall 46 and serves to interrupt or retardk anydowndraft through the smoke pipe, without interfering Awith the freepassage of the products of housing.

In Fig. 61T have shown'a slightly modified arrangement of the apparatus,omitting the heating coil. .As there shown, the tank 55 is similarinshape to that above described and a burner 56 isalso similar in itsarrangement and vcontrol to the burner shown in Figi, the automaticvcontrolling mechanism not being shown finthis figure. The hopper57 iscarried by a supporting'member 58 which rests upon thetop casting 5,9.This hopper has a i perforated bottom =wall 60 'and Athe v`combustionthrough the lower portion `of the side wall thereof is slotted, as shownat 61'.` The diameter of the hopperV is such as tolleave a relativelystructs the passageway and which causes the small space or passagewaybetween the same and the inner wall 62 ofthe tank and it is providedabove the perforated portion thereoi' with aspiral ,rib 63, whichpartially obproducts of combustionV to circulate about the hopper andthus more fully utilizes the heat.` Y 1 In Figs. 7 and 8, I have shownanother form of the apparatus which also comprises a tank 6a which isannular in cross section and'in whichvthe inner wall 65 of the tankconstitutes in part a receptacle for the garba-ge to be consumed. Thelower portion of the opening through the tank is of greater Adiameterthan the upper portion thereof, Y as `shownat 66, and the inner wall 65-of the repairing or replacing the saine. A top casting 7 2 and asupporting ring 73, similar to those abovedescribed, are provided andsecured tothe supporting ring 7 8 is a tapered Vitructure or chute 74,which extends into the opening formed by the inner wall 65 kof the tankand servesto guide the material or garbage into the same,thischute'being proridedfwith a series ofopenings 75 to permit the gasesto escape therefrom. In `order that the yproducts `nf combustion may`pass upwardly through the tank and may contact with relatively largeportions of the vsurface thereof, the tank is provided about the innerwall 65 thereof with a series of passageways' 76 which extend from theenlarged portion of the opening therethrough to `tlietop castingwherethey are connected with the outlet 77. These passageways are here shownin the form of substantially rectangular inserts in the tank butobviously they may comprise y pipes or may be of'any suitable character.

While I have shown and described certain i `embodiments of my-inventionI wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to thedetails thereof as various modifications may occur to a person skilledinthe art.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new Vand'desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a combined incinerator and water heater, a tankfhaving inner andouter walls spacedone from the other to forma water receptaclebetweenthem, a hopper supported within and spaced from said inner wall,a

burner arranged beneath said hopper, a water coil arranged about saidhopper,`a coupling member attached to one end of said coil and having ascrew threaded opening, a second coupling member mounted on the innerwall membeig the outer wall of said tank having an openingv adjacent tosaid fitting, anda removable closure for said opening.

2. In a combined incinerator and water heater,` a tank having inner andouter walls vspaced one from the other to form a water receptaclebetweenthem, a hopper supported within andspaced from said inner wall, a burnerarranged beneath said hopper, a water coil arranged about said hopper, acoupling memberv attached to one end of said coil'and having a screwythreaded opening, the inner wall of said tank having an openingadjacent to said coupling member, a collar rigidly secured tol saidinner wall and extending about said opening, a second coupling membercarried by said collar, a tubular member arranged'within said waterreceptacle, extending through said collar and said second couplingmember and having screw threaded engagement with the first mentionedcoupling member and also having a shoulder arranged to have contact withsaid collar, whereby the rotation'of said tubular member will draw saidcoupling members into Contact one with the other and will cause saidshoulder to engage said collar, the outer wall of said tank having anopening in line with said tubular member, and a removable closure forsaid opening, said tubular member having a screw threaded'portion toreceive a conduit inserted through the opening in said outer wall.

3. In a combined incinerator and water i heater, a tank having inner andouter walls spaced one from the other to form a water receptacle betweenthem, a hopper supported within and spaced from said inner wall, aburner arranged beneath said hopper, a water coil arranged about saidhopper, coupling members connected respectively with the upper and lowerends of said coil, tubular inembers'mounted in the inner wall of saidtank, extending into said water receptacle and connected respectivelywith the coupling members at the opposite endsvof said coil, the outerwall of said tank having openings adjacent to the vrespective tubularmembers, and removable closures for said openings, said tubular membershaving threaded portions to receive conduits inserted through therespective openings in the outer wall of said tank. .4. In a combinedincinerator and water heater, a tank having inner and outer walls spacedone from the other to form a water receptacle between them, a hoppersupported within and spaced from said inner wall, aV

able closures for said opening.

5. In a combined incinerator and water heater, a tank comprising innerand outer walls spaced apart to form a water receptacle between them, ahopper arranged within said inner wall and spaced therefrom, a burnerarranged beneath said hopper, a water coil arranged about said hopperand comprising parallel pipes wound about said hopper, tubular membersarranged within said tank extending through the inner wall thereofadjacent to the upper and lower ends of said coil, and means forconnecting both pipes of said coil at their upper and lower ends withthe respective tubular members.

6. In a combined incinerator and water heater, a tank having acombustion chamber j and a passageway opening through the upper andlower ends thereof and surrounded b y said tank, means to supportmaterial to be consumed in said combustion chamber, and a burnerarranged beneath said combustion chamber and said passageway, saidpassageway being arranged to conduct products of combustion about saidmaterial and in Contact with the wall of said tank.

7. In a combined incinerator and water heater, a tank, a receptaclearranged within said tank to receive material to be incinerated, and aburner beneath said receptacle, said tank having a passageway forproducts of combustion extendingthrough said tank outside of saidreceptacle from a point adjacent to said burner to a point near the topof'said tank and so arranged that the products of combustion passingthrough thesame will come in contact both withV said receptacle and withthe inner wall of said tank.

8. YIn a combined incinerator and water heater, a tank comprising innerand outer walls arranged to form a water receptacle between them and toform a combustion chainber within said inner wall, a receptacle formaterialv to be incinerated arranged within said combustion chamber andspaced from said inner wall to form av passageway for products ofcombustion between said receptacle ands'aid inner wall, and a burnerarranged beneathgsaid second mentioned receptacle.`

9*. In av combined incinerator and water heater, a tank hav-inganinner'wall arranged to form- :al combustion chamber within said tank,llnirifier supported ,adj-acent; to the lower end'of saideembustionchamber, means to'v sup-port material 1 to be incinerated (within said Ycombustion chamber and above said burner, and .a i hollow structureextending about and communi/eating vwith the upper' end of saidcombustion chamber andhaving, an outlet for products of combustion,saidvtank fhaving 5a passageway to conduct products ofV combustionfromsaid burner to saidhollow str'uc'tu'refand cause thegsanjie` tocontact both with said supporting means and with the wall of said tank.1

l0. Ina 'combined incinerator and water heater, a tank having an innerwall arranged to form a combustion chamber withinsaid' tank, a burnerarranged adjacent to the lower end yof said combustion chamber, a hollowstructure extending about said upper end of and communicating with saidcombustion chamber Vand having an outlet for products` of combustion,and a receptacle for material to be incinerated supported by saidstructure,

extending into said opening and spaced from the inner wall of said tankto vprovide a passageway to conduct products of combustion from saidburner to said hollow structure and to cause the same to come incontactwith the wall of said tank and with said receptacle.` 11. In a combinedincineratork and .waterV heater, a tank having an inner wall arranged"to form a combustion chamber within said tank, a burner arrangedadjacent to the lower end of said combustion chamber, a hollow structureextending about the upper end of j, said combustion chamber and havingan out-` let for products of combustion, and a receptacle for materialto be incinerated supported within said combustion chamber above saidburner and spaced from said inner wall of said tank to form a relativelynarrow passageway to conduct products of combustion from said burner tosaid hollow structure.

12. In a combined incinerator and water heater, a tank having an innerwall arranged to form a combustion chamber within said tank, a burnersupported adjacent to the lower end of said combustion chamber, areceptacle arranged within said combustion Lchamber and spaced from theinner wall of said tank to form a passageway for the products ofcombustion between said receptacle andthe inner wall of said tank, and astructure arranged about the upper end of said Vcombustion chamber andhaving an outlet forA said products of combustion.

13. In a combined incinerator and water heater, a tank having an innerwall arranged to form a combustion chamber within said tank, a burnersupported adjacent to the. Y

Alower end of said combustion chamber, a reoeptaolei 'arranged Withinsaid combustion chamber and spaced fromthe inner Wall of `said tankto'orm a passageway for the prod- 5 uots of combustion between saidreceptacle and the inner Wall of said tank, a structure arranged aboutthe upper end of said combusution chamber and having an outlet for saidproducts of combustion, and a Water coil ar- 10 `ranged about saidreceptacle and connected at its upper and lower ends with the upperandii lower portions, respectively, of said tan I In testimonyvrvrhereofQI aix my signature hereto. f Y

ai me 'C sa Y 'so' N

